JORDON VANDERWERF joined the creative team at Hellman as motion graphic artist. VanderWerf graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in electronic media and was employed at other advertising agencies.

STACEY SIMMER transferred to the material handling division at TCF Equipment Finance as a sales associate. Simmer has been with TCF since 2014 and previously worked in TCFEF’s Agriculture division.

CAITLIN PIXLER of Waterloo earned the registered play therapist credential conferred by the Association for Play Therapy. Pixler is a licensed marriage and family therapist.

CAROLYN KOHL-MEYER joined CBE Companies as a QA/application software tester II. Kohlmeyer was at ASI Computer Systems and has a degree from Hawkeye Community College.

WENDY WILSON, station manager for AvFlight Inc. and American Airlines at the Waterloo Regional Airport, received the 2017 Cedar Valley Tourism Award for excellence in customer service.

WARREN FREEMAN was named director of the UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital Wound Clinic. Freeman served as vice president of business development at The VGM Group and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a graduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

RICH PENN of Rich Penn Auctions in Waterloo won “Best in Show — of all Advertising & PR – Print entries” for the “Iowa Gas Auction” catalog in the 2017 National Auctioneers Marketing Competition presented in partnership with USA TODAY. Penn won four other awards for their personal property and antique catalogs and direct mail material.

VGM Group Inc. has added four new associates to its team. JANEY GRAVEMAN is a designer for VGM’s marketing division. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and worked for UNI’s College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences. VGM’s information technology business hired CAROL ALBAUGH as its technical sales specialist. Albaugh, a graduate of Mount Mercy University, was with Cerner. VGM Homelink hired two intake patient care coordinators. MARGARET FOSS is a graduate of Hawkeye Community College and was at UnityPoint Clinic Urgent Care, and JESSICA HECKENLIVELY was a student at Hawkeye Community College.

KRISTI BROWN-ELL, ARNP joined Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa’s Covenant Clinic in Oelwein as a nurse practitioner. Brownell received her advanced registered nurse practitioner degree from Allen College in Waterloo in 2016. She earned a master of science in nursing from Walden University in Baltimore, Md., in 2009 and a BSN from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1997. She was nurse manager of Mercy Living Plus, housed on the third floor of Mercy Hospital, for the past three years.

BRIT SAMUELS joined The Samuels Group as a business development manager and will be based out of the Wausau, Wis., office. Brit has experience with The Samuels Group as a laborer and an assistant project manager intern. He is a recent graduate of UNI with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an emphasis in management.